Welcome to the Australian Lottery and Newsagents’ Association

The Australian Lottery and Newsagents’ Association (ALNA) is the peak industry body representing Australian newsagencies and lottery agents. There are 4000 individually owned and operated newsagencies in the country and together they make up Australia's largest retail and home delivery group.Read more

ALNA Membership

Through strength and size, the ALNA has the necessary means to achieve outcomes difficult to achieve by a single business.

For just $876 per annum*, your ALNA membership gives you access to industry representation, complimentary advice on industrial relations and leasing matters, discounts on insurance, access to accredited industry training courses, and so much more.

*Membership prices vary by state. Membership fee is capped at $876 per annum.

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Penalty Rates Case a Big Win for our Industry

Posted on 24 February 2017ALNA

The Australian Lottery and Newsagents Association (ALNA) strongly supports today's announcement by the Fair Work Commission (FWC) that they will reduce penalty rates. We congratulate the FWC on taking an equitable approach in their ruling on the future of penalty rates in the General Retail Industry Award, and announcing a reduction to Sunday penalties and some public holiday penalties.

This is a great outcome for independent retailers like us and it is a big reversal of the previous FWC decisions on penalty rates. Sunday wages will be reduced from 200 per cent of the standard rate to 150 per cent for full-time and part-time staff, and from 200 per cent of the standard rate to 175 per cent for casual staff. There will also be less significant changes to public holiday rates, these will be reduced from 250 per cent of the standard rate to 225 per cent for full-time and part-time staff, and from 275/250 per cent of the standard rate to a flat 250 per cent for casual staff.

As members, you would be aware that when ALNA has surveyed you about issues in your business, Sunday penalties has often been at the top of these. We also know that over 90% of you work every Sunday and public holiday that you open. To deal with this, we have made several detailed submissions over the past few years on the impact to your businesses, highlighting the need for more equitable penalty rates for our industry on Sundays and public holidays. This has included a submission to the Productivity Commission (PC) inquiry into the Workplace Relations system last year and several previous submissions to the Fair Work Act review and Modern Award review, as well as extensive advocacy to the Government. We have most recently supported the other national industry bodies like Master Grocers and AHA in their applications to reduce these rates, that have taken considerable financial resources. While the FWC did not agree with our preferred option of reducing Sundays to the same rate as Saturdays, noting "that for many workers Sunday work has a higher level of disutility than Saturday work," they did recognise that "the extent of the disutility is much less than in times past." They also agreed with the assessment in the PC Final Report "that there are likely to be some positive employment effects from a reduction in penalty rates" and that this may "increase employment trading hours and service levels."

Today's announcement is great news for our industry, which will benefit from some timely relief to the cost of penalty rates on Sundays and public holidays. It will also make it easier for more many members to open longer hours on Sundays, to employ more staff and to compete more effectively with larger retailers.

The public holiday penalty rate cuts will come into effect on 1 July 2017. However, the FWC have "concluded that appropriate transitional arrangements are necessary to mitigate the hardship caused to employees who work on Sundays." The Fair Work Commission hasn't decided yet when the Sunday rate changes will come into effect. They have indicated it should be within a year but may be potentially staged to reduce impacts on employees.

Summary of the Retail Award Changes

Change to Sunday Penalty Rate

Full-time and part-time employees: reduced from 200 per cent down to 150 per cent

Casual employees: reduced from 200 per cent down to 175 per cent

Change to Public Holiday Penalty Rates

Full-time and part-time employees: reduced from 250 per cent down to 225 per cent